The Known World

This corner of the continent is dominated by the Empire of Thyatis, which is a militant empire based in the south east corner of The Known World, and spreads south and over the sea to the Isle of Dawn. They also try to lay claim to (or strongly influence) large stretches of the continent, although the other individual nations resist to a greater or lesser extent. It helps that their attention is drawn to their rival empire on the Isle of Dawn, Alphatia, which prevents their legions from overrunning the rest of the continent.
As well as Thyatis, there are various other countries in The Known World:

The Grand Duchy of Karameikos was conquered by Thyatis a hundred years ago, and thirty years ago Stefan Karameikos life is pretty basic and wild. The real frontiers are in the mountains in the north and east, but the whole country is effectively frontier land.

[The Emirates of Ylaruam] is almost completely desert, surrounded by mountains on the south, west and north and the sea to the east. The desert areas are peopled by fierce warrior nomads, who scorn the “soft town dwellers” (who regard the “uncivilised” nomads with equal scorn). The capital, Ylaruam, is a surprisingly green jewel in the middle of the desert.

Across the mountains to the north of Ylaruam are Soderfjord, Vestland and (in a group of islands off the coast) Ostland, collectively known as the [Northern Reaches]. These are wild lands where warrior Jarls rule over a rough and combative folk particularly feared for their sea raiders.

Rockhome is the land of the dwarves, a mountainous land to the east of Ylaruam and to the north east of Karameikos. Stolid, dependable but unwelcoming to non-dwarves. They live mostly underground, in the but there are a few above-ground towns (mostly to provide the farming which feeds the country) located on the edge of one or other of the two large lakes in the centre of the country.

To get from Karameikos to Rockhome, you have to take the trail north through the south-east corner of Darokin, land of merchants and diplomats. They say if you shake hands with a Darokin trader you need to count your fingers afterwards, and they are known for striking deals which look very good…but somehow work out even better for the trader. Darokin extends for a long way to the west, the whole length of the northern border of Karameikos and then beyond, with [Lake Amsorak] leading to the western border of the Known World.

Completely surround by Darokin, in the east just north of Karameikos (and rather too close to Rockhome for comfort) is Alfheim, land of the elves. Little is known about the elves there, because they keep themselves to themselves, but it is said there are strange and deadly beasts roaming the trees, and the elves like hunting (so it can be unfortunately easy to meet an “accident” if you venture into the land without an elven guide). There are also rumours of a race of elves who live deep under the earth.

Below Darokin, to the west of Karameikos (past the notorious [Blight Swamp]) is the pleasant land of [The Five Shires], a land of farms and forests which the halflings claim as their own. This land runs west until it reaches the [Malpheggi Swamp], where the [Streel river] comes out into the sea after its long journey from the infamous [Broken Lands] north of Darokin where all the beastly humanoids live in a continual battle for supremacy.

Across the Streel river delta from The Five Shires and the south-west end of Darokin is the jungle-surrounded high plateau of the [Atruaghin clans], a primitive folk who live off the land.

Heading north-west from Darokin instead takes you through the Broken Lands to Glantri, land of magic users ruled by magic users for magic users. This definitely doesn’t include religious magic…

Finally, east of Glantri, west of Vestland and north of Darokin and Rockhome are the vast plains of the [Ethengar Khanate].

Wherever you come from, there are rumours of strange things happening in the borderlands nearby, strange creatures appearing, strange weather conditions, places where no-one returns from, but these stories are always second- or third-hand.